The application of adhesive or other sealant material to substrates is well known and is particularly well known in the insulated glass assembly art. In the insulated glass art, it is important to ensure that the perimeter of a unit is completely sealed. If this is not ensured, the result is the ingress of moisture or debris which eventually leads to the premature degradation insulated assembly.
In view of this difficulty, the art has proposed numerous methods and various apparatus to ensure uniform application of sealant material in the assemblies. Typical of the known arrangements is extrusion heads which are either automated or manual. One of the primary difficulties of the known arrangements is that the depth of the sealant material cannot be uniformly applied in width or depth about the perimeter and further, the known arrangements are limited in that they do not positively avoid entrapment of air within the sealant material. A further limitation is that the most extreme perimeter of the sealant material cannot be perfectly perpendicular relative to the substrate surface. The result of this is, therefore, surface irregularity about the perimeter as opposed to a smooth planar finish which would be more desirable from an aesthetic point of view as well as a structural point of view.
In view of the existing limitations in the sealant applying art, there exists a need for an improved method of disposing sealant between, for example, insulated glass assemblies.